Big turnout expected for Kellogg 3-on-3

KELLOGG –– This weekend is for the hoopers.

North Idaho’s largest 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, SilverHoops 3-on-3 is this weekend and all signs point toward another banner year.

One of the longest-running events in the Silver Valley, SilverHoops is celebrating its pearl anniversary this year – 30 years of bringing the masses down to the blacktop at Teeters Field.

Hosted by the Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by the businesses of the Silver Valley, SilverHoops has grown from a small 3-on-3 basketball tournament into a premier event in North Idaho, as thousands of people make their way into Kellogg for the two-day event.

This year promises to be the largest event to date, with more than 720 players registered.

That equates to at least 180 teams – if each team takes the traditional approach of rostering four players.

SilverHoops Committee members Gus Colburn and Ethan Wendt were excited to announce that because of this growth, the committee had to add additional courts. For years the tournament utilized 18 courts during the tournament – 12 at Teeters Field, two on Hill Street, and four courts in the Kellogg City Pool parking lot. This year, two new courts will be added along Railroad Avenue between the parking lot and vendor row.

With so many teams headed to Kellogg, it means that spectator numbers are also going to be at an all-time high. Not to worry though, as the committee has made sure that between a large variety of vendors, the slam dunk and three-point competition, and free entry into the swimming pool, there is plenty of things to do for everyone – even if they aren’t trying to win a tournament.

Community events like SilverHoops are designed to be fun as well as beneficial to the community hosting them – SilverHoops employs a unique format where the first day of the tournament is treated as a round-robin, and Sunday is a single-elimination, seeded tournament based upon each team’s record from Saturday. This keeps everyone in town for at least two days – oftentimes resulting in full hotels and busy restaurants.

“Keeping teams around for both days is good for the vendors, sponsors, and local businesses,” Wendt said.

Sponsorship is a major part of what keeps SilverHoops going, whether that’s paying for the t-shirts before the registration fees are collected, making sure the facilities are well-maintained, and that the event features amenities like restrooms, prizes for competitions, and a DJ – without those groups, SilverHoops just wouldn’t be what it has grown to be.

“We should also add that Dave Smith Motors and Grocery Outlet are our Slam Dunk-level sponsors,” Colburn said. “All funds from this event go back into the community, with a large portion going to groups volunteering at the event such as Kellogg Booster Club, Kellogg Boys Basketball, Wallace High School Cheerleading, and DC or Bust.”

Even in the heat of late-July, SilverHoops has become a staple on the calendars of many basketball enthusiasts across the region.

Post Falls resident Tim Mitchell has been playing in SilverHoops for two decades and each year he, along with his family and tight-knit crew of teammates, make their way to Kellogg from Kootenai County to share in the game they love.

“The community that has embraced me, my family and friends every year for the past 20-plus years of participating, in what has become the one tournament that we look forward to year after year,” Mitchell said. “And a special thanks to the Trail Motel for dealing with us for all these years.”

The SilverHoops 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is July 29-30.